Tubby, Gertrude Ogden (1878-1967)

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Tubby, Gertrude Ogden (1878-1967)

Teacher, author, and psychic researcher. Born June 18, 1878, at Kingston on Hudson, New York, Tubby studied at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts (B.S., 1902). In 1907 she became the special research assistant to James H. Hyslop, then president of the American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) and remained in that position for the rest of Hyslop's life. The society split in 1925, with dissident members forming the Boston Society for Psychic Research. Tubby, who had control of Hyslop's papers, continued to work for the ASPR as a secretary and as editor of its Journal until 1924. However, after a dispute with the leadership of the society she refused to give them the Hyslop collection for their archives. Eventually she turned that material over to the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship (now the International Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship ).

Also, as a result of working as Hyslop's assistant, Tubby investigated a wide range of psychic phenomena, including mediumship, telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, and survival. After his death, she collected communications apparently from him from various mediums. These messages are discussed in the book James H. HyslopX, His Book (1929). She also published the book Psychics and Mediums, A Handbook for Students (1935; British ed. 1938), as well as various articles in the Journal and Proceedings of the ASPR.

She died July 1967.